The Black Death
by Variety's Liar
Summary: Neenu, a confused young witch breaks out of Azkaban on a quest to find lost memories and friends
1. Chapter 1 It Begins

The Cell doors open as a small group of guards rush in towards the still form. Checking for a pulse, they find she has passed. Blood lies in pools beside the girl; rudely cut wrists feed the red rivers. A small shard of glass is grasped in her hand, and a look of peacefulness upon her grimy face. Wrapping her up in a thin sheet, the men carry the carcass outside.  
  
"Best burn the evidence." Placing the body down upon the dusty ground, one guard takes out his wand. Raising his wrist he opens his mouth, ready to ignite the body. The wind howls suddenly, blowing the sheet off half of the bloody corpse. Then unexpectedly an uncovered hand flexes its stiff cold fingers.  
  
The Black Death  
  
The humid air of the day still hung heavily on Privit Drive as the full moon rose above the large, square houses. The sound of the nightly news echoed through the many open windows as the residents of number 4 lulled in front of a single fan. Well, not all the residents. A skinny, scruffy- looking teenage boy sat in his room staring blankly at the barely open window. His baggy, faded clothes hung loosely from his slightly unhealthy looking body.  
  
Harry sighed as he fell back onto his bed; the old mattress squeaked under his weight. In two weeks he would be sixteen, yet he felt as though he had lived for decades. So much had happened in his short life, it hardly seemed fair to be only sixteen.  
  
The sudden noise of the doorbell brought Harry back to reality. Opening his door, he peered down the stairs. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Pertuina scuffled out of the kitchen, Mrs. Dursley tidying her hair as she went. "Really! Who calls by our house at such a late hour?" Harry heard Uncle Vernon curse. True, it was almost ten o'clock and it would (be) unusual for the Dursley's friends to drag themselves out of their own houses on such a hot night.  
  
Mr. Dursley opened his door to find a young lady. Her messy black hair hung to her elbows, and her startling emerald eyes pierced Uncle Vernon's look of rage and almost seemed to shock him speechless. She smiled at her welcoming party, who looked utterly bemused.  
  
"Hello. Sorry to call so late. You must be Mr. Dursley. Pleased to meet you, I'm Neenu Thirday." Then, before Uncle Vernon could protest her late arrival, the green-eyed woman whipped out her wand and froze Uncle Vernon, Aunt Pertuina and Dudley, who had just wandered out of the kitchen.  
  
A chill went up Harry's spine as Neenu's cold eyes found his own, and she walked towards the stairs. Harry closed the door quickly, and sealed it with a charm. He could hear her rhythmic footsteps edging closer.  
  
"Let me in, Harry. I'm not here to hurt you," came the voice from behind the door.  
  
Harry dared not answer. Instead, he stood ready, wand pointed at the door. "Harry, please! There isn't much time!" said the voice again, but this time it was different, somehow urgent, and almost begging.  
  
Then slowly, a ghostly figure passed through the door into Harry's room. Gasping, Harry fell backwards onto his bed as the transparent figure gradually became solid again.  
  
Now in the moonlight that shined through the window, Harry could make out the stranger's features. Her messy black hair masked her pale oval face. Her magnificent almond-shaped, green eyes glowed in the darkness as she slowly walked towards the terrified boy. Her old and torn clothes hidden beneath black, velvet robes, folded into her voluptuous figure. "Harry, please relax. If I was going to hurt you, I would have by now," she said softly.  
  
Harry gave her an amazed look "How did you do that?" He asked pointing at the door  
  
Taking a seat at Harry's desk, Neenu turned to pat Hedwig, who relished in the attention, despite not knowing the woman.  
  
"How did I do what? Walk through the door?" Neenu replied, turning for moment to glance out the window. "It pretty easy stuff Harry, but right now isn't really the time to teach you ok?" she smiled  
  
A little disappointed, Harry sighed "Then why are you here? I 'spose you've come to kill me like everyone else" Neenu laughed quietly. "Hardly, but I have come to warn you"  
  
Now Harry was interested, and turned his full attention to this mysterious woman. "Warn me about what?"  
  
Neenu bit her lip as if thinking how to voice her words. "Well it's kinda of hard to explain, you see...well" She paused and looked out the window again, a shadowy figure disappeared quickly causing Neenu to tense. "Look ok, I'm running out of time. I've come to warn you about me.  
  
"You? What do you mean?" Harry looked puzzled.  
  
Neenu tried to explain.  
  
"Harry there are people looking for me, people who will change the person I am now into someone who could be very dangerous. Now I don't want that, I don't want to hurt you or anyone. But if they find me..." Neenu couldn't finish the sentence, but conveyed the meaning through the fear in her eyes.  
  
A loud thump sounded downstairs. Neenu sprang up and headed for the open window.  
  
"Harry I have to go now, I hope somehow I've warned you of the danger you might be in. Just know the real me would never harm you"  
  
Smiling, Neenu stood and headed for the window.  
  
"Goodbye, Harry."  
  
Harry was lost for words, not even a simple farewell could escape his lips.  
  
Bending down slightly, Neenu hugged the boy, and stuffed a small shred of paper into his hand. "That was a present from someone very special to me, it will help you remember tonight and what I have said" Neenu whispered and she leaped out the window and began running down the dark streets.  
  
Unfolding the paper, Harry found only a single word "Truth" written in black ink on the old creased parchment. 


	2. Chapter 2: The Here & Now

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters created by JK R  
The Here & Now  
  
Her legs ached, her sweat drenched clothes rubbed her skin raw as Neenu ran along the night streets of London.  
  
She couldn't apprate because they would hear her, she could fly without a broom. She was utterly helpless running for her life & her sanity.  
  
They could not catch her, she wouldn't let them. She just couldn't go back to what she had become all those years ago. An emotionless killer preying on Muggles & Wizard folk alike. Trained to perfection as an assassin for Voldermort's Death Eaters & then stolen from her life she knew with them to be exploited by the Ministry of Magic until she broke under the strain of her worthless existence.  
  
She had never known her Parents; Voldermort had always told her that his Death Eaters had killed them when she was taken. She was a baby when the cloaked devils took her from her mother's arms and brought her up in a world of blood & pain.  
  
But it was all she ever knew, though the relentless beatings & lashings never flickered the burning flame within her that had made her Voldermort's ultimate treasure.  
  
Then at the age of eight, when she was travelling to her next victim's home, the Ministry attacked, they killed everyone one of Neenu's temporary family, save her. For they pitied her, saddened by such a cruel life. But they did not keep her alive only for pity, they could see use in her tear stained eyes, why not turn their own weapon against them?  
  
Years of the strongest memory charms, countless potions, they broke her once violent mind & tried to use her against what remained of the death eaters.  
  
But it didn't work; she broke down, going mad inside her confused mind ripped between three different worlds. Death Eaters, Ministry or that of a normal life.  
  
Finding no way to stop her detrition they locked her up in Azkaban, by this time she was only 15.  
  
Her mind turned to mush in that Dementor ridden hell house, she felt at times as though death was her only answer to take away all of her sadness. Then a gleaming light shone within those dark halls. A voice came to her in a dream, comforting & claming her.  
  
Every time she closed her eyes she hoped for this angel in the black to talk to her again & he did, only a little at first, then his conversations were long & wise, keeping Neenu from the brink of madness.  
  
One stormy night the voice did not come, instead a man crept into her dreams, he looked so familiar, his raven hair hung as messy & dirty as her own. The same look of years of torment lined his face. His only words that night were  
  
"Good Evening My Lady, You may call me Sirius"  
  
As time went by these two people grew to be friends which was something Neenu was not used to, for she had never had a real friend. She learned that he to was a Azkaban prisoner, who had been framed for a crime he didn't commit. Neenu poured out her heart to this known stranger, revealing everything about the Death Eaters & the Ministry & even the flashes of memory of her short childhood with her real family.  
  
Then one dream he told Neenu he planned to escape.  
  
The next night he was ready, before he departed he wished Neenu well, sorry for the fact she couldn't escape with him. Although this tore her heart in two Neenu pushed aside the pain & bade goodbye to her Sirius. Before leaving, Sirius, spoke to Neenu telling her if she ever got out, to find a man named Reamus Lupin, for he would help her find him.  
  
Crying in her lonely cell she curled up in ball as she heard the noises of the alarms going off outside.  
  
"God I hope he makes it out" was her only thought as loneliness crept it's way back t her mind  
  
Her mind suddenly returned to the here & now as something caught her by the arm and swung her around the corner into a shadowed street. She drew her wand ready to defend herself but found herself looking into the eyes of a werewolf 


	3. Chapter 3: The Clearing Sky

Chapter 3  
  
The Clearing Sky  
  
The urge to scream was so intense, it would be just a few short seconds & the werewolf would rip the flesh from her bones; but time seemed to stop.  
  
The werewolf released her, & Neenu fell to the ground in shock.  
  
The sounds of her pursuers faded away slowly as the sun crept through the early morning alleyways. Then the werewolf changed.  
  
He was a handsome man, but his face was lined slightly by years of hardship. His kind eyes stared down at Neenu, glazed over by the onset of tears.  
  
He held out his hand to the crumpled girl on the ground; Neenu withdrew whimpering thinking him the enemy.  
  
She no longer had the strength to fight even if he was, she was spent, and the thought of even reaching for her wand eluded her in her dazed state.  
  
"It's all right," his voice was soft flowing like wind in the trees.  
  
"It's all right. I'm a friend of Sirius."  
  
"Reamus?" Neenu stammered, a single tear of hope rolling down her cheek.  
  
"How did you guess?" a playful smile crinkled on his face.  
  
"Holding onto a last hope, I 'spose," Neenu smiled.  
  
Taking her hand, Reamus helped pull her up off the ground. Her body gave way under her & she fell back down again, the signs of a fever growing on her face.  
  
Lifting her up again in both arms, Reamus cradled the girl as he made his way down the streets. Neenu snuggled into his shoulder at peace at last.  
  
She awoke to find mid-afternoon sunshine warming her face.  
  
She shot up out of the bed. "Where am I?" she mumbled to herself, slightly afraid in the unfamiliar surroundings.  
  
Creeping out of the musky room, Neenu descended a small flight of stairs, following her nose as it led her to the lovely smell of food.  
  
Entering the kitchen, she found a man with his back to her.  
  
Was he friend or foe? The night had been all a blur to her she hardly knew herself.  
  
The man suddenly turned around,  
  
"Ah you're finally awake. Good." Reamus smiled as he placed a steaming pot of stew on the table. "Hungry?"  
  
"Um, just a little," Neenu replied as her rumbled loudly in response to the smell of food.  
  
Sitting down at the table, Reamus handed Neenu a bowl of the sweet smelling stew.  
  
The room was silent as they both slurped down the meal, until Reamus broke the silence, his voice concerned & mournful,  
  
"We had almost lost hope you know, of finding you," he looked up at Neenu, who had stopped eating.  
  
"We thought we were too late, that They had taken you."  
  
"I thought the same for while. I had no idea how I was going to keep running from them. You saved me from a fate worse than death," Neenu replied, no emotion in her tone.  
  
"They wiped Harry's memory of the night," he sighed. "I s'pose that it's for the best."  
  
"He'll still remember," Neenu smiled. "One day he'll remember; just like I'll remember everything I've lost one day."  
  
Reamus smiled, "There are some things that shouldn't be remembered, though."  
  
Neenu nodded as she began to eat her stew again.  
  
"I'm excepting visitors tomorrow," Reamus announced. "They're coming to see you & to discuss what is to be done. Do you think you're ready?"  
  
Again Neenu nodded, no longer wishing to talk.  
  
"Finish your soup, then I'll clean up those wounds of yours. After that, you best go rest again to ready yourself for tomorrow." 


	4. Chapter 4: Memories Best Forgotten

Chapter 4: Memories Best forgotten Ok it isnt very long, but the next one will be i promise   
  
The sun rose again the next day, just as it always did. Neenu sat on the edge of her bed, dreading the day's events. Her fate rested in these peoples hands; she just hoped they could be trusted.  
  
The door opened downstairs and the screams of a certain painting rung into the silence.  
  
The noise pounded in Neenu's ears, making her head ache. Frustrated and upset she took out her wand and raced downstairs.  
  
Though, when she had reached the bottom step, familiar faces froze her on the spot.  
  
Dumbledore stood staring at the girl, as she stared back, a look of pain appeared on the headmaster's face.  
  
So many memories, so many things you wish you could forget.  
  
Dumbledore quickly turned and headed for the kitchen.  
  
"I know him, I've seen his face somewhere before" Neenu whispered to herself, memories trying desperately to break through  
  
The other members of the Order quickly followed in Dumbledore footsteps, grabbing a quick look at Neenu at she gaped at all these faces she knew but couldn't remember why  
  
Then finally one face she knew very well appeared before her, his own face looking just as shocked & welled up with emotion as her own.  
  
Neenu tried to speak but words just wouldn't appear, here was someone she hadn't seen in more than ten years.  
  
"Serverus..." she finally muttered  
  
She had known him since she was only a baby, he had been there her entire life, and until he deserted her when she needed him the most  
  
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she waited for some sort of response.  
  
Single glassy tears slowly descended down Severus's own cheek as time seemed to stop.  
  
A smile spread across Neenu's face and went to step closer, but Snape suddenly turned and followed the others.  
  
Dejected & alone Neenu slumped down against the banister crying of seclusion.  
  
A arm wrapped itself around her shoulders as she sobbed, that calming voice like wind spoke to her softly  
  
"I'm sorry; this must be very hard for you"  
  
"What the hell would you know!!?" Neenu yelled pushing the arm away  
  
"I don't know and that's why I'm sorry. You've been through so much for such a young life"  
  
"Why are they afraid of me?! Why doesn't anyone want me!?" she cried into Reamus's shoulder  
  
"Because of what you were & what you could become I suppose. But I don't fear you and I won't abandon you"  
  
Neenu cried out, so familiar were those wonderful words, she had heard them spoken before but not by Reams, but by her Angle in the Dark  
  
"Before we go in I have one thing to tell you though Neenu, and it may upset you, actually I'm sure it will"  
  
Neenu sat up and looked at Reamus with apprehension  
  
"Sirius is dead, Neenu"  
  
His words rang into Neenu's mind for a while she thought she must be dreaming, the one person she had escaped to be with & to see again was dead. She couldn't handled this anymore, Reamus's words were the final straw  
  
"NO!" She screamed as she flung Lupin against the wall & apparted away from the sadness 


	5. Chapter 5: Reflection of Betrayal

Chapter 5:  
  
Neenu didn't know where she was going, only that she had to be as far away as she could from that house and the sadness it brought. She ran down the streets, finally collapsing on the ground in a park; the wet ground soaked through her clothes.  
  
"Why? Why Sirius?" she mumbled to herself between sobs, which made her whole body shudder.  
  
"If I had known, I wouldn't have faked my death; I would have killed myself permanently."  
  
Neenu glanced down at the scars, still pink, that lined her wrists. "Why does everything go wrong...?"  
  
A dazed Reamus picked himself up off the floor, a nasty bump on his head throbbing painfully, and rushed into the kitchen where the members of the Order were waiting.  
  
"She's gone," he said flatly.  
  
The small crowd of faces turned pale.  
  
"What on earth do you mean she's gone?" Snape snapped in anger.  
  
"I told her about Sirius," he sighed, now knowing his fault. "And she threw me against the wall and apparated." "Didn't you even think to put some sort of barrier up to stop her from doing that?" Snape blasted again.  
  
Reamus hung his head in shame. "I just... I just didn't think she'd react so strongly."  
  
"She's a bloody psychopath Lupin, how'd you expect her to react?"  
  
"That is enough, Severus," Dumbledore intervened. "We should stop wasting our time arguing and use it instead to find her before anybody else does."  
  
Neenu couldn't tell hold long she'd been sitting there, only that the sun was beginning to set, and that her eyes were sore from crying so much. Standing up on cramped, shaky legs, Neenu stared at the shades of red, yellow and orange that were smeared across the darkening sky. A small smile cracked across her lips as she drew inner warmth from the simple beauty of it all. Sudden footsteps brought Neenu back to reality, and she clutched her wand.  
  
"I promise you, Sirius, I won't let them take me again. If only for Harry's sake but for your memory as well they will not again have me alive," she vowed.  
  
Turning around slowly, Neenu was once again struck speechless by the sight of Severus Snape walking towards her, wand in hand.  
  
"Do you have any idea the havoc you've caused?" he shouted.  
  
Tears threatened again, but something inside suddenly changed, and she glared back at Snape.  
  
"Don't snap at me like I'm one your potions students, Severus!" she shouted back.  
  
Snape was taken aback, her voice commanded such a high level of respect, he was lost for words. This was the Neenu he used to know: bossy, bad tempered and extremely fiery.  
  
"I can see they weren't able to destroy that temper of yours at Azkaban," he replied.  
  
"No thanks to you," she growled back.  
  
Snape winced.  
  
"Neenu, you know I had no choice. I couldn't go back for you. They would have killed me."  
  
"Oh, so you'd rather save your own butt than help someone else. You were always looking out for number one, Serverus."  
  
Snape was about to reply when Neenu spoke again,  
  
"Do you have any idea what that felt like? You left me to them! You saw what was going to happen and fled! "  
  
"Neenu, you have to understand, I..."  
  
"THEY RAPED ME SEVERUS! They beat me up, and raped me, and you did NOTHING!" she screamed at him, tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
Snape tried to stay composed as his past came back to haunt him.  
  
"You were no friend to me; never have been, and never will be again, Severus," she said finally and turned to leave.  
  
Snape made no move to stop her.  
  
A shuddering chill ran up Neenu's back as she walked away and the cause suddenly dawned on her, turning back to Snape, she found him exactly where she'd left him, his cold dark eyes staring back at her. And somehow, just from the look of terror that shone in her eyes, he knew what was about to occur. 


End file.
